Seriously this... If you fans are expecting DeMar to be LEbron you are never going to get that, take him for what he is a very good second option behind Gay...Toronto hasnt had multiple otions since Garbojosa days... Seriously I dont get the constant DeMar trolling. Nothing done can ever satisfy a fan.

Not many other guys in the league can do what DeMar can do. Hes averaging allstar numbers, and on any given night can explode, if allstars were based on stats alone and not fan voting he would have been one this year. Can we just end the debate and say hey you know what? DeMar is actually a dam good player.

Not many other guys in the league can do what DeMar can do. Hes averaging allstar numbers, and on any given night can explode, if allstars were based on stats alone and not fan voting he would have been one this year. Can we just end the debate and say hey you know what? DeMar is actually a dam good player.

Not many other guys in the league can do what DeMar can do. Hes averaging allstar numbers, and on any given night can explode, if allstars were based on stats alone and not fan voting he would have been one this year. Can we just end the debate and say hey you know what? DeMar is actually a dam good player.

I wouldn't say athleticism because I categorize athleticism in the NBA as -- hops, top speed, acceleration & first step ...
DeMar has above average hops but I think everything else is pretty average. His acceleration is actually pretty slow compared to other guys -- even Terrence Ross.

DeMar has the size over most 2 guards which is why he likes to work in the post. I think his athleticism is overrated & I firmly believe that his limitations in lateral quickness & acceleration (close out speed) can be attributed to his defensive "production."

Barring significant improvements, we pretty much can expect this level of production from DeMar -- which is not necessarily bad. He's a good scoring option who can punish smaller defenders in the post. His post game has improved to a level where I would rank him among the best 2 guards in this regard. But without the defense & the breakdown ability, he is pretty much limited to going off screens & straight line drives.

“I don’t create controversies. They’re there long before I open my mouth. I just bring them to your attention.”

The hatred of DeMar is why Raps fans cant have nice things....Give credit where its due I think the majority of the fans on this forum are confusing 2011-2012 DeMar for this new one which has been pretty goddam solid all season.

The hatred of DeMar is why Raps fans cant have nice things....Give credit where its due I think the majority of the fans on this forum are confusing 2011-2012 DeMar for this new one which has been pretty goddam solid all season.

DeRozan has shown very little sustained improvement this season.

1. Scoring
- PPG is 17.6, up only 0.9 PPG from last year (16.7 PPG), despite playing more (36.8 MPG this season VS 35.0 MPG last season)
- very inefficient scoring: 15 FGA per game to score 17.6 PPG
- shooting is bad and has barely improved: 43.7% (compared to 42.2% last season)
- still a terrible 3pt shooter which has actually gotten worse: 23.1% (compared to 26.1% last season)

2. Other
- still a terrible defender
- still unable to create consistently for himself (poor handles)
- still a weak finisher at the rim (use athleticism to go strong and dunk the ball, AND draw fouls!)
- still a minor contributor in other areas: 4.0 RPG (compared to 3.3 RPG last season), 2.6 APG (compared to 2.0 APG last season), 1.0 STL per game (compared to 0.8 STL per game last season)
- still absolutely disappears for long stretches, or even complete games

I expected to see much more growth and improvement from DeRozan this season, considering it's his 4th year in the league (3rd year playing 34+ MPG). The lack of improvement defensively (2nd year under defensive guru Casey) and 3pt shooting are real cause for concern. Scoring is the only thing he does, but even that is incredibly inefficient.

When you factor in his raise to $9.5M starting next season, I don't understand how he can be viewed any differently than Bargnani was viewed the past few seasons (following his big raise). They're both one-dimensional, inefficient scorers, who have shown little improvement throughout the course of their careers.

Yes DeRozan loves Toronto. Yes DeRozan works hard. Yes DeRozan shows emotion. Yes DeRozan is athletic. Yes DeRozan is still only 23. None of that matters. The only thing that matters is his on-court, in-game performance, which has been anything but "solid"; he's an inefficient volume scorer (and a redundant one at that, following the acquisition of Rudy Gay).

This isn't "hatred of DeMar", it's unbiased, objective analysis of the stats.

1. Scoring
- PPG is 17.6, up only 0.9 PPG from last year (16.7 PPG), despite playing more (36.8 MPG this season VS 35.0 MPG last season)
- very inefficient scoring: 15 FGA per game to score 17.6 PPG
- shooting is bad and has barely improved: 43.7% (compared to 42.2% last season)
- still a terrible 3pt shooter which has actually gotten worse: 23.1% (compared to 26.1% last season)

2. Other
- still a terrible defender
- still unable to create consistently for himself (poor handles)
- still a weak finisher at the rim (use athleticism to go strong and dunk the ball, AND draw fouls!)
- still a minor contributor in other areas: 4.0 RPG (compared to 3.3 RPG last season), 2.6 APG (compared to 2.0 APG last season), 1.0 STL per game (compared to 0.8 STL per game last season)
- still absolutely disappears for long stretches, or even complete games

I expected to see much more growth and improvement from DeRozan this season, considering it's his 4th year in the league (3rd year playing 34+ MPG). The lack of improvement defensively (2nd year under defensive guru Casey) and 3pt shooting are real cause for concern. Scoring is the only thing he does, but even that is incredibly inefficient.

When you factor in his raise to $9.5M starting next season, I don't understand how he can be viewed any differently than Bargnani was viewed the past few seasons (following his big raise). They're both one-dimensional, inefficient scorers, who have shown little improvement throughout the course of their careers.

Yes DeRozan loves Toronto. Yes DeRozan works hard. Yes DeRozan shows emotion. Yes DeRozan is athletic. Yes DeRozan is still only 23. None of that matters. The only thing that matters is his on-court, in-game performance, which has been anything but "solid"; he's an inefficient volume scorer (and a redundant one at that, following the acquisition of Rudy Gay).

This isn't "hatred of DeMar", it's unbiased, objective analysis of the stats.

I have issues with Derozan like most fans, but for the love of all that is good in the world, the man does not deserve to be compared to Bargs. That really isn't fair.

I defended Bargnani for far too long, because I wanted to believe in his potential. I now see a similar player having the same excuses being made for him.

The only differences I see are that DeRozan is an American player with a reputation for being a gym rat who expresses his love for Toronto. Who cares? Why the double-standard?

I was wrong about Bargnani and I've learned from my mistake. I just think losing for so long has caused too many fans to set the bar too low for what we expect out of our Raptors players. We deserved better than Bargnani and we deserve better than DeRozan, especially as false franchise cornerstones.

I defended Bargnani for far too long, because I wanted to believe in his potential. I now see a similar player having the same excuses being made for him.

The only differences I see are that DeRozan is an American player with a reputation for being a gym rat who expresses his love for Toronto. Who cares? Why the double-standard?

I was wrong about Bargnani and I've learned from my mistake. I just think losing for so long has caused too many fans to set the bar too low for what we expect out of our Raptors players. We deserved better than Bargnani and we deserve better than DeRozan, especially as false franchise cornerstones.

I think this is objective. Sometimes the truth hurts.

One area Bargnani did have a leg up was creating mismatches with his size and skillset taking opposing teams bigs away from the rim. DeRozan is the opposite, put a smaller guy on DD and he posts up ala Luke Ridnour.

I never thought of the comparison.

One area they are definitely different: I know DeRozan cares. I'm not saying Bargnani doesn't but I can't say the same thing about him with any shred of confidence.

I defended Bargnani for far too long, because I wanted to believe in his potential. I now see a similar player having the same excuses being made for him.

The only differences I see are that DeRozan is an American player with a reputation for being a gym rat who expresses his love for Toronto. Who cares? Why the double-standard?

I was wrong about Bargnani and I've learned from my mistake. I just think losing for so long has caused too many fans to set the bar too low for what we expect out of our Raptors players. We deserved better than Bargnani and we deserve better than DeRozan, especially as false franchise cornerstones.

+1

Can't say it any better than this.

There's an article on Yahoo where it says that DeRozan is one of the Raptors big trade chips this summer(along with Bargnani). I would love to see it, but if Colangelo stays i can't see it happening. If there's a new GM then i guess maybe there's a chance.

Derozan is solid player, but his new contract is too big for the player who can't actually improve and live up for his potential. I think it's time to say good bye to Demar and get some other assets for this team. Well... he loves Toronto, he loves Raptors... but this is business, you must think with clear head and make decisions better for the organisation not for the player.

Is it only me or you think Demar is superstar? If you remember we had 2 superstars before, they were awesome defenders.

I guess the only difference between both, is Derozan's want and drive to be better, to work hard. That's what I'll take anyday.

In all honesty, I read this all the time, but I don't get it. If he works that hard, what is he working on? Because there really is no reason I can think of someone with his talent isn't able to learn to shoot threes; and that's just one example; too many of his weaknesses haven't been improved upon enough considering all these reports about him working hard. Personally I believe much of his workethic is just image.

In all honesty, I read this all the time, but I don't get it. If he works that hard, what is he working on? Because there really is no reason I can think of someone with his talent isn't able to learn to shoot threes; and that's just one example; too many of his weaknesses haven't been improved upon enough considering all these reports about him working hard. Personally I believe much of his workethic is just image.

Is shooting three's supposed to be easy to develop? A guy who had no shooting range originally, is an effective mid-ranged shooter. The ball-handling has improved significantly in my opinion, though it still has much room to grow. The post game shocked me this season. He's obviously become physically stronger. He's obviously improved, whether it be statistics, or what you see by your eye. Demar is raw talent, it will take time close to a big man to see great significant improvements.

If Bargnani had a work ethic of Derozan - or in your words, his "image" - would he be stuck, and labelled as a useless player being payed milllions to keep his oft-injured ass on the bench? I doubt it. Bargnani has made rare improvements.